Give me a Break
by nami li
Summary: Nene steals a ring that belongs to the mysterious, yet quirky Akastuki. All Nene wants is a break, but it's hard to get one when the Akastuki are searching all over Konoha for their lost ring. Will Nene give the ring back to make them go away? Or will she keep it so she can spend more time with a handsome blonde member? T for Hidan and smexiness c:
1. Didn't see that Coming

**A/N: Hi everyone! After being inactive for about two years, I'm back with a new fanfic and enhanced grammar and vocab c: **

**This story does not follow with the Naruto time line, the characters are just there, doing their thing haha. Hope you like!**

* * *

Whenever I have a day off, I like to enjoy my time alone and just relax.

I was doing just that on an absolutely perfect day in Konohagakure's forest until I heard Naruto's disgruntled shout.

The next thing I heard was a huge "thunk" and I get knocked out of the tree I was sitting in. With a small shout, I tumbled out and plunked right next to Naruto, who's face was smashed into the tree trunk.

"NARUTO!" I yell as I sock him in his side. I would have beaten him up if my head wasn't forced to it's side by a huge, slobbery, wet dog tongue. Akamaru.

Naruto gurgles and moans as he sits up.

"Eh… sorry Nene…You see, I was just giving Akamaru a test ride and-"

"Yeah, I can guess what happened next," I pouted, "What made you think it was a good idea to ride Kiba's dog?" I scolded, my hands akimbo.

"He _didn't _think!" A pissed Kiba shouted from a distance. He lands next to Akamaru and pets him on the head. Then he proceeds to Naruto cracking his fists. I leave before I can witness Naruto's beating; I've given him a fair share of black eyes and bumps on the head already.

I relocate my tired body that desperately needs some TLC to another tree, far away from my last spot. "_No one should be out here._" I think confidently.

I recline in a sunny spot on a wide branch as I start to doze off. The sun is so warm on my skin. It makes me feel fuzzy and care free for the time I'm in it. _"Maybe I'll get a tan while I'm here,"_ I hope.

My long, dark auburn hair drapes around my neck and over my shoulders down to my mid-biceps. It keeps me warm from the cool breeze that's passing though on this magnificent fall day. I can feel all my muscles loosen, and I'm relaxed for the first time in weeks-

Until a kunai stabs the bark six inches away from my face.

My muscles constrict and I spring up on full guard.

"What the fu-" I start to exclaim, but am cut off my an apology coming from a ninja with two buns.

"Whoa! Nene, I'm so sorry! I didn't even see you there."

Tenten. I got all worked up for nothing.

"Oh, it's fine. I just really wasn't expecting that… At all."

"Yeah, I get you, but my team usually trains over here today. You might need to find another place to nap."

"_Ugh, she knew I was sleeping! Now, I seem like such a slacker…"_

"Haha… yeah, I was just re-fueling for today. I'm going to train with Ino later," I lie.

"Oh, how cool. Maybe _we _can train sometime together!" She said, punching my shoulder, "I got to go, but see you around!" She said, retrieving her kunai and jumping away.

"_Good _bye…" I mutter.

"I guess I have to go even father," I sigh, hearing the clash of kunai in the distance.

Why is everyone out today? Is it the same reason I am? Because it's a beautiful day and I want to get some fresh air and enjoy myself? Why would I want to train today! I've been going on missions non-stop for the past week, and I'm sure everybody else has.

I just want to relax, is that too much to ask for?

I walk _far_ away. I jump to the highest branch on the tallest tree to see how far from the village I am, and I'm pretty much on the outskirts now. I jump down to a reasonable height in another sunny spot and settle down for, I hope, the last time before I head back to my house. The coast seems clear, and the only thing I can hear is the sweet chirping of birds and leaves ruffling in the wind. My white black vest gently flutters and my legs extend from my purple cargo shorts, getting some color in the sun. My side bangs flop on my face as I lean back and _finally _fall asleep.

* * *

"She's pretty bangable."

"Agreed, un. "

"You two are idiots."

I pretend to sleep and try not to sweat. I was woken up by some gross men's voices talking about my body. I can feel their disgusting pervert eyes looking at me. How does someone react to _that _as their alarm clock? I was hoping that they would go away, but the complete opposite happened. I felt someone breathing on my face. He was so close I could feel his body heat radiate onto mine, but it wasn't nearly as bad I though it would be. In fact, my chance to "wake up" came by.

"TOBI WANTS TO HUG HER!" He exclaimed. My eyes fling open an dI jump and gasp while staring at the swirly mask in front of my face. Well, wasn't expecting to see that. All the guys are in generally casual clothes and have painted finger nails.

_"Are they in some sort of club?_" I think.

"Tobi, you little shit! You woke her up, un!" A guy with a long blonde half ponytail shouted.

"W-who are you!" I demand standing up. All of them are taller than me, and much more built.

"Just your horny admirers," Says a muscular man with silver hair.

"You're disgusting," I spit.

"Cool your ass, we weren't going to do anything, slut."

"What did you call me?" I say, clenching my fists, "Who do you think you are? You think you're tough?"

"You wanna find out, bitch? Are you even a ninja?" He asks raising his voice. It's only then that I realize that I have nothing on me. Not even my headband. As I examine his stature, I notice he has a huge scythe on his back, but he's also missing a whole arm. I almost accepted his challenge if it wasn't for a red headed guy speaking up.

"Don't even try it, kid. You don't who you're messing with."

"Yeah, you're in over your head if you were actually going to fight him, un."

"Well it's not my fault I woke up to a freak saying he wants to hug me and then have three other men loom over my sleeping body! "

"We don't see too many girls…" The blond says.

"_Is that his lame excuse?"_

"We're just looking for this bozo's arm, un."

"Well I hope he never finds it!" I exclaim and dash away.

Luckily, my strong point is speed. I'm nimble and quiet when it comes to serious matters.

I skip through the trees fast enough that the pervs are out of range within a minute. When I reach a calm, refreshing river, I stop and go to the waters edge. I was too focused getting away from the creeps that I didn't even think about what could have happened. I was so angry that was about to fight a mean, bulky, mysterious, man when I had no weapons and couldn't call for help. Not only that, but I could have been kid napped, or violated… or both.

I sit down and dip my feet in the water and stare at my reflection. Pinching the bridge of my upper nose, I run through all the scenarios that could of happened. I hate to admit it, but I was scared- _so scared._ I lost in all the situations I thought of.

"I'm so stupid!" I exclaim, kicking my feet and splashing water, "Today is terrible! It was supposed to be perfect and it's _terrible!_"

I storm away from the river to a near by tree and punch it with all I have. The force is enough to knock something out of it and have it bounce off the top of my head. I should have seen this one coming-

It's a freaking arm.

**A/N: Hope you're interested ;D More to come very soon~ Please review! Predictions, comments, and kind criticisms, etc, are always welcomed~ Have a good one.**


	2. Strange Fish

**A/N Chapter two! Woohoo!**

An arm has just fallen from a tree, and is now a foot away from me. It's pale, muscular, and has black, painted finger nails and a ring. It's a silver ring, but the gem part was shiny and orange. It had the kanji for three inscribed in black.

"_Didn't know Mr. Scythe liked jewelry,"_ I thought, picking up the severed arm and plucking the ring off the lifeless finger. It's to big for my thumb, so I put it in my pocket with plans to make it a necklace later.

I walk to the river slowly, looking at the arm with a devious face on. I toss the arm into the air and passionately tornado-kick it down stream.

"Good luck finding it now!" I cheer triumphantly.

It's almost three o'clock now, so I start heading home. I'm recomposed and feel much better now. All my anger was violently kicked down river along with that disgusting guy's arm. _And_ I have his ring. I might have been frustrated earlier today, but getting back at those guys, even if it was just one, made me feel so much better.

Another thing that's going to really lift my spirits is getting some ramen at Ichiraku's. I'll shop around some jewelry stores for a chain to put this ring on, too.

* * *

I walk up stream to get back to town, and after twenty minutes walking, I hear an argument stirring, and a small explosion following. Familiar voices of creepers and bombs are enough to make me race through the forest. No way was I going to run into those guys again. Dashing along, I see Sakura and Naruto in the forest too. I'm actually relieved to run into them.

"Hi Nene!" They cheerfully greet. I wave and walk over.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" asks Sakura.

"I was just taking a walk," I pant.

"You're pretty out of breath for a walk," Naruto notices, nudging my arm.

"Okay, well, I was running, but I was walking for the last few seconds," I say catching my breath.

We laugh and stroll back to town. Chatting, we reach the gates of the village and pass through downtown. I spot a small jewelry shop, and a ask to stop for a minute to pick up a chain. I console Sakura for a little help.

"Hey Sakura, should I get a gold chain or a silver chain for this ring I found?"

"Why don't you wear the ring on your finger?" Naruto butts in.

"It's too big," I pull it out of my pocket and hold it out to Naruto. He snatches it up and puts in on his index finger.

"Hey, this fits!" He exclaims. Sakura and I look at it on his finger, "Why do you want a men's ring as a necklace, Nene?" Sakura asks.

"Well, I found this ring by a river in the forest, but I knew the person who lost it. I hate him, so I want to wear his ring to show that I got a little pay back for what he did," I explained, buffing my nails on my shirt.

"Wow, what did this guy do?" Sakura asks.

"He was being a creep."

"Gross, I _hate_ peepers…" she said glaring at Naruto. Blushing, he bashfully rubs the back of his head and excuses himself, "I'm going to wait outside, guys…"

"You do that," I agree.

The saleswoman comes over to Sakura and me and shows us her chains. I decide that I wanted a long one, so I can tuck in my shirt if I don't want it bouncing around. Sakura advises me that silver would look best. I loop the chain through the ring and the saleswoman clasps the necklace for me. I look in the mirror and it looks just how I envisioned. The ring and chain are shiny and compliment my outfit pretty well. The ring falls right in the middle of my chest, and it's not too bulky either, so it doesn't poke through my shirt. I pay the woman and leave very satisfied.

"Looks great!" Sakura compliments, "You know, I have a few rings that I outgrew, but I really like them. I might use your necklace idea too."

"Go for it."

* * *

I continued to hang out with Naruto and Sakura later that day. Relaxing didn't seem like an option for me today. We all went to get ramen, and when we finished I ordered some to take home for my mom and dad.

I feel like I made a big social leap today. Team seven and me were always friends, but I feel like I can really trust them now, and I hope they feel the same. I always hang out with Ino and her gang, and from all the things she told me about Sakura, I though I wouldn't like her, even if I knew that half the things Ino said were lies. Its nice having a broader spectrum of friends.

We parted our ways around six thirty, and made future plans to train together sometime.

I get home and put the ramen on the dinner table.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" I announce, "I brought you some ramen!"

"All right!" My dad exclaims, popping into the kitchen. He ruffles my hair and says, "Thanks, sport! This is thoughtful of you."

"Heh, no problem," I say smiling.

Just then, my mom comes in from the backyard with her gardening hat on.

"Nene, you're home!" she says, taking off her hat. She sniffs the air, "Did you bring ramen?"

"Yes, she did!" My dad say excitedly.

"That's so funny; your dad and I were just talking about what we should have for dinner. Thanks honey."

She hugs me over enthusiastically and swings me around a bit until she abruptly stops, "Ouch! What do you have in your shirt," she says, stuffing her hand down my shirt and fishes out my necklace.

"M_o_m!" I whine, how could she do that in front of my dad, _ugh_! Typical from my mom.

"_Ooh_, shiny," my dad praises, coming over for a closer look, "Where'd you get this?"

I wipe the embarrassment from my face and say, "I found it in a river. I got a chain for it on my way home."

"A river? You went swimming?" He asks.

"Eh… no, I just saw it in the water. The current was barley moving today," I lie. Man, have I been stretching the truth today.

"Well, whoever lost it must miss it, this is a nice ring!" added my mom.

"Yeah, I'm glad I found it. Anyway, I already ate with some friends, so you guys go ahead an eat before it gets cold," I suggested, "I'm going to go to my room,"

"Alrighty then, thanks again honey!" my mom shouts as I'm already half way up the stairs.

I get to my room, which has a small balcony, and I open the door to get some fresh air flowing through. I flop on my bed and realize that the breeze in my room could have sufficed for the actual breeze through the trees. If I stayed home today, I could have avoided all the interruptions that came my way… but I wouldn't have gotten this ring.

I pick it up from my chest and inspect it some more, shinning it in the sun. There's something about it, but I can't quite say what it is. It really shouldn't be so important to me, especially because I only had it for a few hours, but I feel like I need to protect this ring, almost as if it's been in the wrong hands and shouldn't return.

Well, I _know _for a fact that it's been in the wrong hands. It's been on the finger of a nasty man with silver hair. I'm glad I took it from him, but I feel like I'm treating this ring too specially.

Eh, whatever.

* * *

I wake up from a jolt on my neck. It's Ino, looking at the ring. Shikamaru, and Choji chat in my room, too. I start to say something but Ino cuts me off.

"What are you-"

"Hey, where'd you get this ring?" Ino asks, "I like how it's around your neck instead of your finger. I might use this idea."

"Stop pulling it so hard, you're going to break the chain," I moan, sitting up from my three hour nap.

"Is this a men's ring?" she interrogates.

"Yeah, that's why it's on a chain. I found it today."

Shikamaru comes over, but Choji goes into my secret snack stash and starts eating my candy.

"_Did _you find it?" Shika asks.

"Or did you _take _it," Choji adds.

"_Tch, they knows me too well. Smart asses…"_

"You got me, I found it and _then _took it- as payback."

"From who? What guy!" Ino excitedly asks. She sits on the bed next to me and listens in, "I want to hear _everything_."

"Okay, so I was just trying to relax outside today, 'cause, you know how Tsunade-sama has been making me and Rui run on missions all week. "

They all nod in agreement.

"So, I go to the edge of the village to try and get some peace and quiet and relax, _but_ these idiotic perverts come along and watch me sleep. I woke up when this mental guy screams that he wants to hug me. I start yelling at them and then this guy with anger issues and a missing arm starts calling me a slut and wants to fight me! I had nothing on me though, so I ran away to a river. I was so angry that I punched a tree. And guess what? That guy's arm fell out! Can you believe it? And on his finger, he had _this_ ring. So I took it, and now I wear it as a victory prize."

I show everyone and they nod in approval.

"Serves him right!" Choji chimes.

"Man, I though you had a secret boyfriend or something and had a fight," Ino says disappointed.

"Tch, can you imagine the guy I date?" I ask jokingly.

"You'd only settle for a perfectly chiseled man, Nene. You have extremely high expectations," Shikamaru says.

"What?" I say incredulously, "That's not true… "

Then, Choji says, "Yes it is. It's why you never had a boyfriend for more than two weeks."

I blush and look down. This just depresses me. I'm seventeen and haven't had anyone who loves me romantically.

"Love can be troublesome," says Shikamaru, remembering the time he had a crush on me.

"Aw, come on guys, you're making her upset. Don't worry, Nene, we'll get you a boyfriend one day," Ino reassures, "In fact, lets go out now! That's why we came over. Movies anyone?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," I say. I hop back on my feet, say bye to my parents, and then, I'm out with my buds.

* * *

Guess what? I didn't get a boyfriend! Just as I thought. But I'm not put down by it. No way would I let boys bring me down. I _did _get a lot of compliments on my ring-necklace though.

I woke up at noon the next day, feeling hung over, even though I didn't drink. I stayed up way too late with Ino and the guys last night. But who cares, you're suppose to have fun when you have time off right? That's exactly what I'm going to do today. I'm going to retry my day of relaxation, alone and soaking up the sun. Even though I slept like a rock, I still feel as sleepy as a cranky baby. Plus, sleeping is my favorite hobby, so I can never get enough. Before I head out to the forest again, I pack a few kunai in my messenger bag- just in case. The chances of me running into those creeps again are slim, right? I hope so. I also pack my bathing suit so I can take a quick swim before the water gets too cold later this month.

I go into my kitchen and pack some bread and cheese. I'll have lunch for breakfast when I get to the forest.

As I step out of my house and out to town, I notice a lot of people are out. Typical for a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Walking past the gates of the village, I see Kakashi Sensei, Sakura, and Naruto coming back from a mission. We wave as we pass each other, and Sakura dangles a necklace she's wearing. The pendant that's shining is a sparkly pink ring. I give her a thumbs up and continue on my way.

"_I didn't think she'd actually use my necklace idea…"_

I dismiss my thoughts and walk far down the path outside the village until I find the river I went to yesterday. If those guys are still looking for that arm they wouldn't look in the same place.

I change into my bathing suit because the water is just too good to resist, and then I wade in the gentle part of the current. I go into deeper water and float around, see if there's anything interesting at the bottom of the river, typical swim stuff, until I see the strangest fish I'd _ever _seen. I swim to the surface and walk to edge until the water is just grazing my knees.

"What is that?" I say out loud, watching the huge fish's shadow, "Wait a minute… is that-"

All of sudden the fish splashes up, and its not fish at all! At least most of it wasn't a fish.

"Ahhh this water is great!" He exclaims happily.

Then, he sees me.

I stand in fear. He has blue skin and pointy teeth. It's as if he's half shark, half man. _Another _strange guy! And this time, I'm in a bikini! Maybe I just shouldn't come out here anymore.

"Well, hey there!" The guy greets.

"Eh… hi…" I say uncomfortably with a small wave.

"The water's great, isn't it?" he calls.

"Hehe, yeah. Really refreshing," I agree, slightly less afraid. But that moment of comfort disappears quickly as the guy starts making his way over. When he gets about five feet away I can truly scrutinize him. He's at least a foot taller than me and is extremely built. The things that really stands out to me are his painted finger nails and _very similar ring. _Luckily I took my necklace off before jumping in.

"Are you around from here?" He asks. He _seems_ nice, but maybe that's how he lures girls to lower their gaurd. I can't trust him at all.

"Eh… sort of. I'm just passing by," I lie.

"Ah, I see. I'm Kisame, by the way. My team mates and I are on a mission, but we're taking a break here."

"_Don't tell him your name don't tell him your name just don't!" _

"Is that so… I'm uh, Ne…na…"

"Nena? Interesting name. You're all alone here?"

"_Oh, geeze…"_

"Ah, well my friends are coming soon. They said they'd meet me here."

"Ah, nice. Perhaps we can swim together."

"_Dang, I'm sweating."_

"Are you okay? You're a really pale."

"Oh…yeah, I'm-"

"TOBI SEES PRETTY-CHAN!"

Kisame and I turn our head to see a self-proclaimed Tobi charge at full speed with his arms out and ready to glomp.

I get knocked down while my breath is squished out of my lungs and I'm too stunned to move.

"_I'm being hugged. A freak is hugging me. A stranger is embracing me. A guy is hold his body against mine..._

_ I…I CAN'T HANDLE THIS!"_

All I can do is pass out.

**A/N: Heyy~ sorry this one was a little boring... i needed to get some background in. I hope Nene isn't too Mary Sue-ish. If she is, please tell me and I'll work on it. I'll also work on a cover for this c: Thanks! And pweese review x3**


	3. What did I get into?

_**A/N: Omg! three chapters in three days? I'm on a roll! XD**_

* * *

_Smack! _Somebody slaps my face. Hard.

"OW," I say incredulously, immediately sitting up and rubing my aching face. _"This is going to bruise…"_ All of a sudden someone dumps a bucket of water on me.

"I'm up! Geeze, did you not see me get up?" The blackness fades away and my vision comes to. I see I'm surrounded by six guys, too many of them familiar. I can feel the color drain from my face again.

"Oh, shit. Don't freaking pass out again," The silver haired douche says.

"You again…" I growl.

"Move away guys, she obviously doesn't like men crowding around her," A young women with blue hair commands. Unwillingly, the guys back off quickly and continue to mind their own business. She holds out her hand to help me up.

"T-thanks…"

"Don't mention it. A girl to these guys is like a fire to cavemen. They act like they never see one before."

"If they don't think you're a girl, they must have something wrong with them."

"Well, I'm pretty much the only girl they get to see. It's why they listen to me so well. I'm Konan."

"Nice to meet you, Konan. I'm Nene."

"Likewise. It's nice talking to another girl. The closest thing we have to another female is Deidara, over there. He's walking with Sasori." she points to the long haired blonde walking over to the river with his red headed friend.

"Ah, I see. Um…Who's the guy with anger issues? He really doesn't like me."

"Hidan? Oh he's like that to everybody. Major potty mouth and a dedicated Jashinist."

I nod with understanding, "I know the guy with the mask is Tobi, and the fish is Kisame. Who are the others?"

"The guy with the long black hair is Kakuzu. And the guy with the long black pony tail is Itachi. The plant is Zetsu, and the guy sitting in the shade is our leader, Pein."

"Big group you have here. Is this like, a really big squad or something?"

"Um… let's just call it an organization. All these people have incredible talents. By the way, you said you already knew a few of them?"

"Mhm, I ran into Deidara, Hidan, Sasori, and Tobi yesterday. They were looking for Hidan's arm."

"Yeah, we still didn't' find it. We're mainly looking for it because he had a ring that belongs to the organization. We all wear one. Hidan and Kakuzu had a little rumble the other day and Hidan ended up loosing his arm," Konan explains.

"Do you think you could still attach it after all this time?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah!" she says surly, "Hidan is immortal. He can have all limbs severed and he'd still be alive."

"W-wow! That's something," I say surprised.

That just makes me more afraid of him. Not only that, but all of these "specially talented people" are looking for the ring I took. _"I need to make sure they don't find it."_

"Wanna swim?" Konan asks.

"Sure…" I agree timidly.

Konan and I sit at the edge of the water dipping our legs in. I feel self conscious. All these guys are looking at my body and thinking, ugh, who's knows what!

"_Why am I so afraid of men?"_ I ask myself. _"I need to get over this. If they aren't as big perverts I think they are, I could actually have a crush on a few…Ino would love this."_

Kisame comes up to us.

"_So_, Nena, I have a buddy, Itachi, and he's really lonely. He needs a friend. Why don't you go talk to him?"

I can feel my cheeks getting red. _"Come on body! STOP. BLUSHING," _I mentally yell at myself.

"Um… uh… he looks like he's thinking really hard. I-I don't want to disturb him."

"Hmm," Kisame says staring at me, "You really don't like men, do you."

I tense up and feel my whole face flush. I'm lost for words.

"It's okay. If you don't swing that way, I understand."

Suddenly it all gets quiet and people turn our way. That's it.

"_No_! I'm straight! I swear!" I can feel my head get hot.

"Sure you are," Hidan smirks.

I can't take it. I inhale deeply and plunge into the water. _"I hate guys I hate guys I hate guys!" _I come back up and walk to shore. Dripping wet I approach Itachi, who's sitting on a huge boulder away from the group. I take a deep breath and talk to the obscure figure.

"Hi. I'm Nene."

He looks at me.

"Um… you're friend Kisame said you wanted to talk," I say a little shakily. _"Why did I do this?"_

"Hm."

Hm? Is that all I get? What's with the guy! Now, I'm getting really upset.

"You know, I'm trying to start a conversation and you're not really helping," I say impatiently.

"Here," he holds out his towel, "You're soaked. Take it and tell Kisame to stop playing games."

Okay, now I'm angry.

I leave Itachi with him still offering me his towel and stomp back to Kisame. Everyone's watching and grinning except for Konan.

"You think you're funny? Itachi said to stop playing games."

"It's more of a joke," Kisame laughs along with the other guys.

I storm to my bag a few feet away and take out some sashimi I picked up on my way here. I walk back up to Kisame and pop a piece into my mouth.

"_Mmm_! Delicious! Nothing hits the spot like _fresh fish_," I snap.

"Ugh! How could you!" Kisame cries.

"It's just a joke," I say sweetly, eating another piece. "Want one?" I offer.

Kisame looks like he's going to puke and swims away to Itachi. Now the others are laughing at _my_ little prank.

"Good one," Konan says, giving me a high five.

I laugh and jump in the shallow water, "Anyone want some?"

The guys swarm and snatch the container away out of my hands. They fight in the water over the last pieces while Konan and I watch the comedy.

"They're like children," I comment.

"Yep. I feel like a mom sometimes," Konan says.

"I can see why."

"Ew! Tobi stepped on something squishy!" Everybody stopped their fighting and glances at Tobi.

"Well, what is it, twerp," Sasori asks. Tobi dives into the water and holds up what he found.

" _Yay! _Tobi found Hidan-san's arm! It was in between two rocks! It's prune-y, but still intact."

At this point, I'm silently glare at the masked idiot. How dare he foil my revenge!

"Finally! Out of all you dumb asses Tobi finds my freaking arm!" Hidan booms. He grabs his arm out of Tobi's hands and holds it to the part where it's severed. He gained full motion of it. He wiggles his finger and bends his elbows and sighs as if he's stretching. He separates the two and his arm is lifeless again.

"Kakuzu, you bastard, you did this. Now fix it!" Hidan commands.

"How much are you going to pay me," Kakuzu asks.

"I don't give a shit, just sew it back on!"

Kakuzu ignores Hidan.

"Kakuzu, put Hidan's arm back on, please, " Pein orders from the shadows.

Kakuzu grumbles but stitches the unfortunate arm back onto Hidan's vulgar body. It has to be the weirdest way I've ever seen. Kakuzu literally _sews_ his arm back together with thick creepy string that moves by it's self. I guess that's his talent…

"Well shit," Hidan spurts, inspecting his pruney arm.

"What it is now," Kakuzu says.

"My ring is gone!"

"Ha! Sucks for you!" Deidara laughs, "Guess it got dragged away, un."

"No, someone had to take it off," adds Sasori.

"_What? How could he know? Does he knows it's me?" _I wonder, a little panicked.

"And what makes you think that, un," the blond asks.

"Just look at your fingers."

We all look at our hands. Our wrinkly, swollen hands.

"The skin absorbs water, making the fingers expand. If the ring fits Hidan in the first place, a swollen finger wouldn't get a ring pulled off in a current like this."

He's on to me. _"Okay Nene, just act cool. Just lie your way out."_

"Everyone, let's regroup and figure out our next move," Pein says.

Everyone get's out of the water and forms a circle. Why no one asks me to leave, I don't know, and if I say I have to go, they'll immediately suspect me. I'm trapped.

"The Leaf isn't too far away. Someone from there could have taken it," Konan suggests.

"Our best bet is there, un," Deidara agrees.

"'Nene," says Pein, "You're from Konoha, aren't you?"

"Y-yep…" I say squeamishly.

"Are you trusted there?"

"Yes…"

"Are you familiar with the town?"

"Um… Yeah…"

"Then, you're going to help us find this ring. "

"How are you letting a commoner help _us, _leader-sama," Sasori asks irritated.

"**Yeah, c'mon**, she's not even a ninja," Zetsu says.

"Yes I-" I statr to say.

"I'm not a fan of this idea," Kisame says. Then everyone starts arguing.

"Guys, I _am _a ninja…" I try to say, but everyone's talking over me.

"Silence!" Pein shouts, "Nene is trying to speak."

"Thanks, uh… leader-sama…" I begin,

"Okay, first off, I _am _a ninja. I might only be a chunin, but I've been on plenty of A ranked missions with my sensei. I have respectable tai jutsu that I've been perfecting forever. I've worked hard to go where I am. I'm really not a pathetic as you guys are thinking; Really, I'm not hopeless!"

"Is that a good enough explanation for you?" Pein asks the group. Everyone still looks unwilling to believe me. Pein continues slowly, "We need her because we need trust. Why do we need a top of the class ninja to help us find a _ring_?" He asks.

No one says anything.

"That's what I thought. Now, the plan is to look like we're travelers passing through for a few days. Nene will tell the guards at the gate that she found us lost in the forest and we need a place to stay. After that, we search for the ring and find it as quickly as possible. Understand?"

Everyone nods in agreement.

What did I get myself into?

* * *

**A/N: Hullo~ Hope you enjoyed this chapter, dialogue ftw! It's a little short, but I thought this was a good place to stop haha. Hope you like~ review and stuff please haha X) have a good one~**


	4. Dinner

I think today is crazier than yesterday.

I'm packing my stuff while the others are getting changed. I discreetly drop my necklace into my bra because, well, who knows if they're snoopy and look in my bag? The group all use a disguise jutsu to make themselves look like travelers. They also all have matching straw hats too. What's up with them and matching? I'm surprised they don't' wear some sort of matching jacket or something.

"Hey, Nene," Deidara calls, coming up to me, "Here's a hat, un."

"For me?" I say, taking it doubtfully, "How come?" I ask perplexed.

"Just consider it a gift. Like a temporary member thing, un."

"Temporary member? Really?"

"Well, that's what I'm calling you. It's not anything official, un."

"Oh, thanks anyway. Un."

"Hey, That's my thing. You can't steal it. UN," Deidara says smiling.

"Why? Is it your trade mark? UNN?" I ask, mockingly.

We stare at each other with devious smiles.

"Nah, it's just a habit. _UNN!_" he grunts loudly.

"I might catch your habit after this, UUNNNN!" I grunt louder.

"_UUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!_"

"UUUUUNNNNN_NNNNNNN!_"

We're both "un"ing at the same time now and people are giving us weird looks.

"What. The _fuck_. Are you doing?" Hidan exclaims.

Deidara and I snap out of our 'un' fest and clear our throats.

"Nothing…" we say simultaneously.

"This is isn't over," Deidara declares.

"Agreed."

* * *

Approaching the gates of the village, Konan says to act happy and friendly, so everyone engages in fake conversations. When we're in earshot of the guards, Kisame pretend to say the punch line of a joke,

"So the cook says to the clerk, yeah, I'll take five!"

The group erupts into laughter, and I can't contain myself either. Laughter really is contagious.

"I'll be right back, guys," I say giggling, running ahead to the gates. I approach the guards and begin to explain my new fellow acquaintances.

"Nene, who are your friends?" one of the guards ask.

"I thought you would ask that. I met them in the woods taking a break. They're traveling everywhere; I hope it's okay if they can stay in Konoha for a little bit," I say sweetly.

"Travelers, eh?" He says, glancing over at the group laughing.

"Yep, they're really friendly, I spent the whole day with them," I enthusiastically wave to the posse, "Hey guys!" I call.

They stop their conversation and all wave back elated and smiling. The other guard chuckles,

"Yes, they look like a very nice group of people. As long as they don't' cause trouble, they're welcomed to stay."

"Thank you _so _much!" I squeal.

I beckon to the group to come over, jumping, as if I was really excited for these people. They rush over celebrating and thanking the watchpersons. The guards nod and warmly smile at them as they pass through the gates of the leaf village.

As soon as we're out of the guards sight, everyone goes back to their "cool, calm, and collected" look.

"_This is the weirdest group of people I've ever met_._"_

"Nene, find us some fuckin food," Hidan commands.

"_Please." _I scold.

"Please my ass."

"Well I guess you don't want to eat, then."

The other guys smirk and chuckle.

"If you don't feed us you can bet your ass that I'm going to sacrifice you to Jashin and have Zetsu eat you!"

"And if you try that I'll rip your arm off again!"

Hidan's head is about to blow up as I pause in front of the sushi place I stopped by earlier.

"Here?" I suggest.

"We're going to need something bigger than sushi," Konan says, "These are seven hungry men after all."

"Right…"

We continue walking in the streets and attract a lot of attention. We pretty much hog the road.

Every time we stop, someone has a problem with the restaurant or it's too full. So I take them to a small barbeque dive and hope it suits, and fits, us all.

"Will this do?" I hope. Everyone stares at the menu on the wall, and after careful scrutinizing, everyone finally agrees.

"Phew, you guys are hard to please," I sigh.

The waitresses quickly push together threes tables together to fit us all. As we scooch in, I let Konan sit before me. Sitting, she says, "I usually sit next to Pein, but a little change wouldn't hurt." I smile and agree as I take my seat at the end of the table. Across from me is Deidara, and next to him is Tobi. The waitress serves us water and we order a family style meal.

"_This is going to be a long dinner…Do they even want me here? Should I have left?" _I wonder, _"Unless…they want me here to pay for all of this!"_

I honestly can't tell if they're using me or really want me to tag along on their ring-mission. I want to believe it's the later, in fact, I _hope_ it's the later, but I have a strong feeling that it's the before hand.

Waiting for our food, barely anyone talks to me. Since these guys decide to be snore-fests and keep to themselves, I become captivated by the small fountain the restaurant has when you walk in, but my attention is quickly diverted to Deidara, who happens to be focusing on me. He's starring and observing me, as if he's inspecting my stature.

I glance at him, and he looks away, but I keep my eyes focused on him, giving him a taste of what he was doing to me out of sheer boredom. I soak in his features, like his long girlie hair… it looks soft and silky, way better than mine. Then, I inspect his averted iceberg eyes trying to avoid eye contact with me. I have to admit, he has dazzling eyes, this guy.

"_He knows I'm starring at him…" _I think, _"No one can keep their eyes to the side for so long."_

So I keep gawking at him because frankly, to my surprise, I _like_ looking at him. I can't believe I hadn't seen how handsome he is. Clear, slightly tan pinkish skin, great hair, muscular, and piercing eyes. Not only that, but he must be a hell of ninja if he's in this excusive group of talented people.

Shortly after I started starring, I could practically see a vein pop out of his head as he finally gave into my persistent starring. He turns to me and locks his eyes on mine and raises an eyebrow. I just rest my chin on my hand and keep looking. He copies me by putting his elbows on the table.

I can feel Konan observe us, amused, as she watches us have the most intense stare down in Konoha history.

I can tell Deidara is getting annoyed because he narrows his eyes at me. Note to self: he's short tempered. I squint back and lean in a tad more. His gaze is so powerful I feel like I'm about to sweat. I hope I'm having the same effect on him…

A few moments later, I notice that everyone has stopped their side conversations and has focused on us.

"You know, I can't tell if you like each other hate each other," Kisame finally says.

"Yeah, will one of you lose your petty competition already," Sasori says annoyed.

Deidara and I still stay silent, focusing on our little game.

"First your 'un' fest and now a staring completion. I barely heard you guys talk to each other," Konan says.

"Maybe they can read their freaking minds," Hidan adds.

"My bets are on the girl," Kakuzu prompts.

I can feel my face blush, _"This is so embarrassing… but I won't loose. If he can do it, so can I."_

"Tobi bets on Senpai!"

"I'm rooting for Nene."

"**Deidara.** Nene."

"Shit, I can't choose."

"Nene? Is that you?" A familiar female blond friend asks.

"_SHIT. INO HOW COULD YOU?" _I mentally scream.

I blink rapidly, forfeiting the staring contest and let Deidara win. I cast my gaze to Ino, who's walking over to our table.

"Hey, Ino!" I say with fake enthusiasm, rushing away from the table to meet her half way. I give her a hug and swing her around so her back is facing the group. "What are you doing here?" I question.

"This is my dad's favorite place! I'm picking up dinner. Who are your friends?" she says trying to look over her shoulder to see the table. I quickly grab her by the shoulders and rush her away to the bathroom.

"Be right back!" I say hurriedly, passing the group.

As soon as the bathroom door closes, Ino pounces with questions.

"Who are they?" She shrieks.

"Shhh, be quiet, I met them in the forest today."

"They're so hot! Why are you having dinner with them?"

"I said that I'd show them around town. They're just passing through… looking for the ring I found." I say sheepishly.

Ino gasps. "Are you saying that those are you're perverts? Who's ring do you have?"

"The silver haired guy…" I pull out the rink necklace out of my bra, "I need you to take this with you. I want to make sure they don't suspect me. I won't loose to that jerk."

"What do you mean loose?" She asks taking the ring and putting it in her pocket.

"Well, you know-"

"Never mind," she cuts off, "I wish you told me your jerks were such hotties. This changes _everything_. Nene, now's your chance. You have a pack of crazy good looking admirers-"

"It's not really like that-"

"Hone your feminine beauty and make them fall for you!"

"But Ino-"

She's so psyched that she's not letting me talk.

"Do you your thing and let me know how it goes okay? I'll stop by your house tonight."

"Okay but-!"

"Now get out there!" She says, pushing me out of the bathroom. She goes her way to the counter to pick up her order and I go back to the table.

Walking out of the restaurant, Ino waves winking, and just then, I notice something dangling around her neck. It's not my necklace or a plain ordinary one. It's her own, and she has a silver ring looped though it.

…Have I started a trend?

**A/N: Hey all~ Hoped you liked this chapter :3 Let me know what you think~ til next chapter!**


	5. A sign

"Was that the girl version of Sempai?" Tobi asks bouncing in his chair as he watches Ino walk out the door. Deidara death glares at Tobi.

"Oh no, that's just Ino." I start, sitting down, "She's my best friend. She just came by to pick up her dinner; I had no idea she was coming," I say quickly, trying to dismiss the subject.

"She was wearing a ring on a chain," Pein says.

"Yes, I saw other girls wearing similar styled necklaces as well" Itachi says.

"_Whoa, he said something," _I think.

"More evidence that the ring is somewhere here," Sasori adds.

"Yeah, some girl probably saw it on Hidan's finger and wanted to be part of the cool crowd and took it, un," Deidara says sitting back.

"_So close Deidara…"_

I wore my necklace for two days and already others are copying me. I took it for revenge… it was a victory prize, not a fashion statement! First Sakura, then Ino, and now who knows is wearing a ring-necklace too. Sakura works at the hospital. I bet grandmas are thinking, "oh! This would be a great present for my darling grand daughter!" Who knows how many people will catch on.

The real question is: could I use this to my advantage? With everyone wearing a ring dangling from their neck, this search mission could take longer, scanning everyone's jewelry and all. I could devise a plan to discreetly put Hidan's ring in some jewelers shop… or heck, toss it into the street. That way it'd be a real search. Or maybe… I could act really innocent and pretend I don't know what the ring looks like and just hand it to them. Or better! I could just say that one of my friends found it!

Ugh, why do I lie so much?

* * *

While eating dinner, I got to know the gang a lot better, and in return they know about me too. Of course, I still can't fully trust them, so I didn't reveal too much about my personal life, but just enough to befriend them. Kisame was asking me about my fake name. He understood my fear of strange men and apologized for the prank he pulled earlier. In fact, he now jokes around calls me Nena, even though he's the only one. We already have an inside joke, ha!

Konan and I girled up the table with our beauty talk and giggles. The guys never really get a chance to talk to any girls besides Konan, so asking things about what girls like never came up to avoid discomfort. But now that there's more than one girl, the guys were very open with their curiousness, and Konan and I were very happy to answer their questions.

These people are so close to each other, and even though I was a complete stranger this afternoon, I feel like they're my friends already. I can only hope that they feel the same for me… Am I being too clingy? If there was any other person at the river today, they would have chosen them, right? I mean… Deidara said I was a temporary member and gave me one of the matching straw hats. Kisame played a prank and apologized for it sincerely. Konan sat next to me, _glad _that there's another girl in the group. Is it safe to say that I can trust these people?

* * *

Kakuzu pays for the entire dinner and we leave with our bellies full and in good spirits. I continue down the main road pointing to popular places, but no one really seems to be paying attention besides Pein, so I shut up for a while and we walk in silence. As the sun starts to set, a familiar conversation comes up.

"Nene, find us a place to crash," commands Hidan. Again.

"_Please,_"I scold for the second time. _"I vow to_ _make him ask for something nicely. At least he didn't curse this time."_

"Are you really doing this again…" an annoyed Sasori asks.

Hidan and I stay silent. It's really hard for me to get used to this guy. First his perv scheme, which was a terrible first impression, then his innate rudeness, which is generally hard for people to like, and now, I just don't know if he's teasing me or what.

I take a deep breath. I don't know where to house this eight man group. I have a guest room, but if I brought eight random strangers home , my parents would freak out!

So to get an idea on where to leave them, I try to figure out where the group is thinking of spending the night.

"So…what exactly do you guys want?" I ask, and suddenly demands are thrown at me left and right.

"Nothing shitty!"

"But it has to be something cheap."

"Hot water."

"An included breakfast wouldn't be too bad..."

"Something clean."

"Maybe a pool?"

"A hot tub is better."

"**A well lit room **with big windows."

"Room service."

"A casino would be awesome."

_And so on_.

Such picky people! Exactly how was I suppose to find a cheap luxury five-star hotel? Not many tourists visit where I live, too. A hotel is probably on the other side of the village, and not only that, they probably need a reservation since they have so many people. They probably want separate beds, too, so they need to rent about four rooms? Does Konan get her own? If finding a hotel to suit them all took as long as finding dinner, it'll be morning by the time they pick a place to stay.

And before you know it, we're in front of my house.

"_Oh geeze… should I…?" _I contemplate.

"Tobi doesn't see any hotels around here," A sad Tobi says.

"Yeah… about that," I start. I stop and turn to face the group, "All the hotels and apartments are on the other side of the village and it's already dark. You could have rented some rooms or stayed in a bed and breakfast if you wanted something nice, but it's too late to make reservations. If you really want something cheap, your best bet is some cheap motel in the shady part of town… but I highly doubt you want to go there…"

"So, what, we sleep in the streets, un?" Deidara asks.

"No fuckin way am I doing that," Hidan says crankily.

"Yes, I understand you all need your beauty sleep…" I sigh, "But… if you really want, I can ask my parents if you can stay at my house… Just for tonight though!"

The guys all look around with confused expressions, but Konan and Pein look at each other and nod.

"That would be much obliged, Nene," Pein says.

I nod and tell them to wait outside for a little while I seek permission from my parentals. It's almost nine o'clock when I walk in.

"Nene! There you are! I was getting worried," My mom says, looking up from her book, "Where have you been?"

"Well," I begin, sitting down on the couch next to her, "I went back to the river I went to yesterday to relax, and I bumped into some young travelers taking a break. We started talking and they were wondering if I could show them around the village, so I said yes. I took them downtown and showed them around, and they were so thankful that they invited me to have dinner with them. We went to the small barbeque place downtown."

"Oh, you had quite an adventure today, didn't you? That was so nice of them to treat you to dinner."

"Yeah, they're a really nice bunch of people…"

"So they left already?" My mom asks.

"Well… no. We were trying to find a hotel, but no luck."

"So where are they now?" She asks suspiciously.

"…Outside…" I guiltily.

"Oh, Nene, did you say that they could stay?" she asks unbelievingly.

"Why not?" My dad chimes in, jumping into the room, "They seem like gracious people if they bought Nene dinner. Besides, Nene says that they're good natured. We have a guest room for a reason, Sawako."

"Yeah, mom, please?" I beg, "I said it was only for tonight and we'd find a place tomorrow."

She sighs, but gives in, "Okay. Only for tonight! They owe you."

"Oh, thank you so much!" I exclaim, giving my mom and dad a hug.

I zoom out of my house and out the waiting group.

"Okay, my parents said you can stay for tonight, but there are rules!" I announce. They listen in.

"You need to be on your best behavior in front of them. I convinced them that you're friendly travelers and very nice people. So no rumbling or cursing. Luckily, the guest room is on the first floor and my parents sleep upstairs, but you still need to keep it down. M'kay?"

They all nod and agree while walking past me.

"H-hey!" I shout, catching up.

Konan and I are the first to enter my house. As everyone filters in, we stand in the in front of my parents who are still in the living room. Their jaws drop.

I forgot to tell them that it's a party of eight.

* * *

After getting all the futons we had layed out in the guest room, we had just enough to fit everyone _who sleeps_. Apparently, Zetsu prefers to sleep outside and Sasori doesn't need a bed. I'm still confused by his explanation though; he says he's a puppet. The only thing I understand from that is that he's easily manipulated… but I don't' know what that has to do with sleep.

Oh! And don' t think I left Konan there. Up in my room, I toss her an extra pair of pajamas. I invited Konan to sleep in my room since letting her sleep in a room crammed with men was out of the question. My mom also agreed. Plus, she likes Konan.

When Konan left my room to use the bathroom, a very angry Ino came swinging through my balcony door.

"Nene, I can't believe you. These guys are sleeping at your house?" She exclaims.

"It's not my fault! They couldn't find a place to stay and I used this as our last resort…" I replied squeamishly.

"I'm not talking about that!" she yells, "I'm saying that gorgeous hunks are sleeping in your guest room and you aren't in there with them!"

My face flushes as squeak-yell, "Ino! What type of girl do you think I am? I only met them today and you want me to sleep with them?"

"What the?" she says confused, "You have a dirtier mind than me! I meant ask them if they need anything while you're in some really cute pajamas or something!"

Now, my face is a thousand shades of red, "You're… joking right…"

"Do you think I am? These men met you because it's fate. The other night we went looking for a boyfriend for you and we found nothing. Then, today these handsome signs come right in your way. This is an intergalactic opportunity just for you!" Ino pushes.

"Now you're making them sound like aliens…"

"C'mon, what do you think I meant when I told you to 'hone your girl power?' When are these guys ever going to spend the night in your house again?"

"Ino… you haven't hung out with these guys. If I did that…" I lower my voice, "The guy whose ring I took will just call me a slut again… I don't want to do anything that would prove him right. I don't want him to win, which is why I'm determined to not simply _give_ the ring back."

"So what exactly are you going to do-"

_Knock-Knock._

Ino and I fall mute as someone stands outside my door. Is it Konan? Why would she knock? The door opens and reveals a confused Deidara.

"This… isn't the bathroom, un…" Deidara says matter of factly.

"No_ooo_… not at all," I say with a sweat drop on the side of head, "It's downstairs on your left… but Konan's in there."

"Right, thanks…" he says closing the door, "Stupid Hidan…that bastard…" he mumbles walking down that hall.

Ino and I look at each other in silence, both of our faces red. Deidara just walked into my room with his hair down and only wearing sweat pants. His body is _gorgeous_.

Ino and I sit down on my bed.

.

"Who was that?" Ino asks in shock.

"…Deidara," I say in a daze. Ino turns to me and puts her hand on my shoulder.

.

"Nene…This. Is a sign."

* * *

**A/N: Ohoho Deaidara without his pontytail! And shirtless! XD Hope you liked this chapter c: Review please ^_^ it keeps me going!**


	6. Art is a bang

When Ino and I hear Konan coming back to my room, Ino swiftly runs out and leaps off my balcony, scurrying off into the distance. Giggling, because she's devising some sort of plan that I'll never agree to do.

It's about 10:30, so I insist that Konan takes my bed while I sleep on my own personal futon that I keep in my room incase Ino ever wants to sleep over. She gratefully accepts, and I turn off the lights. It's awkward though, because we both know we're awake.

"Crazy day, huh," She asks quietly.

I sigh, "Crazy _two_ days, actually."

"I'm sorry if we're burdening you."

"Oh! No, no. It's not you guys. I've just been stressed out lately. I think you guys are doing me more good then bad."

"Stress? What's wrong?"

"Well…" I stay quiet for a little bit, pondering my life, "Last week the Hokage was putting me and my partner, Rui, on a ton of pestering missions. Non stop. It was only until Thursday that my sensei got put on our team to help us out. I've been exhausted since my last mission and I was going to spend this weekend relaxing."

"It sounds like you just need a good rest. A two man group is small, but… isn't your squad suppose to have three people and a jonin in the first place?"

"_Oh man… should I tell her?_" I wonder."_I don't want to give out too much personal information… but… I can trust her the most. She's like my therapist."_

"Um… it's sort of a long story, but to make it short…" I become sullen, but summarize the story in one sentence, "Rui had a twin brother."

Konan becomes dour as well, "Had."

"Right…He was killed on a mission six months ago. Rui just hasn't been himself since. He's really been slacking and it's gotten worse. He's downright depressed. It's almost like he tries to get killed on missions now…And I can't help him. I feel like I don't know him anymore."

"I had no idea that you would be dealing with something like this. You really cover it up," she states.

"I just moved on, really. I spent my time being sad already. Everybody knows that Rui is the one who's just gotten worse. I mean, it was his brother after all."

"Mhm, I understand. It's good that you moved forward. Oh, and I hope your Hokage doesn't pile work on you this week. You should really get a new member to help out your team… but…we might need you some more. I mean, if that's okay with you."

I smile, even though she can't see.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

We say good night. It was nice having a meaningful talk. I wanted to ask her if the others genuinely liked me, or if they were using me. But imagine if they really _are _just using me. How could Konan answer that? Either way, she would say yes, the only difference would be if she was lying or not.

…Am I just being paranoid?

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to the glorious smell of hotcakes. Not just any hotcakes, but my dad's special_, _and not to mention _delicious,_ hotcakes. He hasn't made these little delicacies since Chouji's 15th birthday.

I yawn and rub my eyes. My back hurts, but I don't know why. Then, I sit up and realize that I rolled off my futon all the way to my dresser-

On the other side of my room.

An invigorating breeze comes by. I turn around to see my balcony door open and notice Konan is outside, looking at the view I have. I look at my bedroom door; someone left it open just a crack, so the smell of fluffy, buttery, hotcakes could fill the room and wake us up.

Konan comes back in the room saying, "'Morning. How'd you sleep?"

As I get up, I stretch my back and say, "Pretty good, except for my back. It so strange, I don't remember ever rolling around in my sleep before."

Konan laughs, "I guess you don't know you talk in your sleep either."

Horror strikes my mind. I have no control of what I would say in a dream! I feel myself go pale, "W-what? I do? What did I say?"

"You imaged you found Hidan's ring," she says chuckling, "It was so cute, you were cheering 'I got it! I got the ring!' You were so enthusiastic. Did you have a dream you found it? Maybe we can look for it there, haha."

I can feel my face getting hot. I'm almost sweating, but I laugh anyway, "Heh, I wish. It might have been helpful… Anyway, I can smell my dad's cooking. Do you like hotcakes?"

"Yeah, they're one of my favorite breakfast foods," she says smiling.

"Well, I bet my dad will make them your number one."

Konan and I walk downstairs and into my kitchen to the sight of my mom and dad laughing with the whole gang of guys. The kitchen is buzzing with sounds; sizzling batter on the frying pan, forks tapping on plates, chatter and laughter, it's like it's a holiday or something.. As we walk in, I can see Pein glance at Konan with soft eyes, as if he's relived she's here.

"Hey, look who decided to join the party!" My dad greets.

"Yeah, it's sleeping beauty one and two," my mom teases.

"We're already on seconds," my dad says while handing us plates of round and warm deliciousness.

"Tobi wants thirds!" the masked man shouts, running into the kitchen.

"**Will you quit running**? You're making us dizzy," Zetsu says.

"Oh! Sorry Kakuzu-san but Mr. Nene's-dad's hotcakes are just too good!"

"I think that's the only time you've been right, un," Deidara praises.

"Zetsu," Konan says, "I haven't ever seen you eat pancakes before."

"Well… there's a first for everything…"

I watch Konan's expression as she takes her first bite. Her eyes widen and she stays silent.

"Sooo, what do you think?" I prompt.

"…They're too good for words."

My parents chuckle.

"Konan, you need to learn how to make this," Hidan says scarfing down his plate.

"You need to learn to cook," she comes back.

The kitchen laughs, and I think I even see Itachi smiling.

* * *

After breakfast, we all get dressed and get ready to scavenge for Hidan's ring. I got to fulfill Ino's want of Deidara seeing me in pajamas, even though it was just a flowy yellow tank and black shorts. If I wanted to impress him, I would have worn a night gown, but whatever. It's almost eleven thirty by the time everyone's ready. Looking like a tired father, (after watching all the members without Konan,) Pein thanks my parents for letting everyone stay the night.

"It was our pleasure," My mom says. Almost out the door, my dad shouts, "Come again! You're always welcomed here," I turn and give him a incredulous look, but he just winks back at me and my mom gives me a thumbs up.

"_What was that for?"_

Right as we walk out of the house Konan remembers something, "Oh! Nene, I forgot my eye shadow in your room, can you get it? We'll wait for you here."

"Sure, no problem. Be right back," I respond.

Opening the door again, I see my parents spying out the window. They turn to me simultaneously,

"Those are such great people Nene!" My dad enthusiastically says, "You couldn't have run into a more fun group of travelers!"

"_And_ they're handsome too! Let's see if you can make them one of your boyfriends," my mom grins.

"You're starting to sound like Ino now… Anyway, I just need to get Konan's eye shadow. She-"

"Left it in your room. Yes, we heard through the door," my mom finishes for me.

"Okay… both of you are being really creepy…"

"Don't worry, we're going now," added my dad, going to the kitchen and dragging my mom along. It looked like she wanted to stare at the group a little longer…

.

Sheesh, parents these days.

When I'm up in my room, I realize that I didn't ask Konan where she left her makeup. After a few minutes of searching, I hope that I'm not making them wait too long. Just to make sure that they aren't getting too impatient, I go on my balcony and look over the edge. They're just chatting, but they're huddled in a circle. Maybe they're having a club meeting, discussing topics meant for people with special talents only. Right when I'm about to continue looking for the eye shadow, I see a figure on the other side of the street eating some onigiri. His resemblance with Shikamaru is uncanny.

"_What is he doing here?_" I wonder, "_He can't be jealous of these people, can he? Ino must have told him about 'mysterious hot guys' sleeping at my house. He has Temari, he shouldn't be watching over me._"

I turn to go back into my room, but in the corner of my eye is a small palette of blue eye shadow resting in the corner of my balcony. I guess Konan did her makeup outside. I take the makeup, but before I head out, I turn to see Shikamaru again, but he disappeared.

I walk down stairs, greet the gang, and hand Konan her makeup. Then, we take off.

While walking into town, Pein explains that the group thought of a plan while I was in the room. We'd break up into groups of two and search the town in different areas. This way, we'd cover more of the village and seem less suspicious, rather than a huge mass of people oddly scanning every person we see. Pein pairs us up like this: Him and Konan, Hidan and Kakuzu, Tobi and Sasori, Deidara and me, and Zetsu and himself. I guess, technically, he can be counted as two people. I also can't help but to notice that Sasori seems annoyed, but sad too. Maybe he's usually Deidara's partner.

I can feel my stomach flip. I'm Deidara's partner now.

A picture of him from last night appears in my mind, shirtless, undone, and just plain hot. Just knowing what's under his shirt gives me the jitters. I get to spend the whole day with him.

As the gang departs, everyone takes different directions. Deidara and I are left with the more country side of the Leaf Village, which I think is pretty dumb. I mean, c'mon, what are we going to do out there? Inspect farmers?

* * *

I'm laughing so hard I snort.

"Oh my gosh, that was so embarrassing," I giggle.

Deidara pulls out a miniature Kisame figure and mimics his voice, "Not as embarrassing as my affair with Samehade!"

I laugh again.

Deidara has figures made of clay of everyone in the group and is pretending to be them. I swear, I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. I as I catch my breath I ask him where he got such things.

"Deidara, where in the world did you find figures like that?"

"Find? Oh no, I make these little guys myself, un." he explains, looking accomplished.

"You're a sculptor? That's so cool!" I exclaim.

"You really think so?" he grins.

"Yeah! That's serious talent you got there. How do you make them?"

He pauses for a little bit than starts saying, "Hmmmm…." for almost a minute, teasing me. He's wearing a very long sleeved light grey shirt with black straight leg pants with deep pockets. His shirt sleeves are so long though, it covers his hands. I always thought that was a girl thing, but anything goes with him Deidara. He's also carrying around a weapons pouch, just for safety I'm assuming. He's quite the fashionable one.

"Well, I guess I can show you as long as you don't freak out, un," he declares.

"Freak out? What do you mean?"

He rolls up his sleeves up to his elbow and holds out his fists, "Pick one…Or both, un."

I give him a questionable look, "both," I say tapping the tops of his fists. He grins and turns his fists around and unclenches them.

He has mouths on the palms on his hands.

It is _so_ incredibly hard not to freak out right now.

"Whaaaat?" I say confused. I take his hand while he just smiles amused. His hand-mouth grins and licks it's lips.

"I'm just glad you aren't screaming, un."

"…Do you brush their teeth?"

He laughs, "I don't think anybody has asked that as their first question before! But no, the clay I use keeps them pearly white, un."

"So… these mouths make the sculptures?"

"Yep, just watch," he says as he puts his hands into his pouch, "I keep my special clay in these pouches, un."

He pulls out a lump of clay and his hand mouth starts chewing it up.

"You mean, you don't keep weapons in there?" I ask perplexed.

With the sexiest smirk I've ever seen, he says, "The clay _is _my weapon, un."

He looks at me, but I just raise an eyebrow. Out of his hand a small little bird pops out.

"Aw, it's adorable!" I say.

He puts his Itachi figure on the bird and passes it to me, "Now, throw it."

I listen to him and chuck it in the air, but it keeps going.

"I-it can fly? Awesome!" I exclaim.

"Hope you like explosions too. Art… is a bang." He makes a single handed hand sign and yells, "Katsu!"

The bird and mini Itachi bursts into a magnificent array of oranges and yellows. It was prettier than a firework.

"Speechless, huh?" Deidara notices.

"Yeah…I…really wasn't expecting that!" I babbled, "It's so deadly, but so pretty."

"Exactly why I love it. It's a work of art, fleeting in a blast of beauty, un."

"That's… pretty deep. I didn't know you had such an artistic side to you," I stated. "I feel bad for Itachi though," I giggle.

"Pft, that guy really pisses me off…" He stays silent for a second, "He forced me into the… Uh, I mean he tricked me into joining this group… I lost a bet, un…The only other person who likes art is Sasori. But he has a completely different point of view, un."

"I see…" I squeak.

Did he just open up to me? Guys barely ever talk about their feelings… right? This shows he trusts me, right?

"_This moment is too perfect,_'I think. It's just me and Deidara, sitting in a field under a tree. Alone. Goofing off from our mission because the people here have exactly zero correlation to the ring. Plus, I know that none of the others will find it because it's in the trusty hands of Ino. This means that everyone is rigorously looking throughout out the village all day long. He's all mine.

"_Is this really a sign like Ino said? She wants me to go after him, and now my mom even wants me to get a boyfriend. And my dad approves, too… _"

I might as well _try_ to get him to like me.

"...I don't know much about art…" I start, "But I'd really love to learn from a great artist like you."

* * *

**A/N: Getting romancey ohoho~ Hope you like this chapter! Constuctive critisism is welcomed along iwth reviews c: They fule my writng XD More to come soon!**


	7. Night Life

"And that's how you can sculpt a face with a toothpick, un," Deidara says, showing me the face of delicate, beautiful, young woman in a white piece of clay.

I feel so uneducated; dumbfounded.

It's like I'm a four year old being told how babies are made. How babies are _really_ made.

"How'd your's come out?" He asks. With a embarrassed chuckle, I show him my lump of a face. It's a oval that has two dots with circles around them for eyes and a triangle as a nose. For a mouth, I scribbled a small 'u.' It sort of resembles Lee…

"Well…" He started. I was prepared for the worst. "It's very geometric, and shapes are the basis of a lot of sculptures. If you smooth some things out and add a little depth, you could have an abstract creation right here, un."

"Really? It's nothing compared to yours though…" I say softly.

"Well, we all start somewhere. I knew nothing about art once, too, un."

"That's nice way to put it," I state. Eagerly, I ask, "Do we blow them up now?"

"You read my mind," he smirks.

I toss him my clay and he smushes it with his and let's his mouth hand infuse it with chakra. Out pops a bird and it darts away into the sky.

I start counting down, "Five, four, three, two, one!"

"KATSU!" We shout simultaneously. A fireball with a boom that shook the ground explodes in a spectrum of all the warm colors.

I jump up and punch the air, "Woohoo! Man, that was great!"

"Looks like I have a little protégé, un," Deidara suggests.

I look at him smiling, "It would be so cool if I had that jutsu. Could you really teach me?"

"'I'm afraid not. This a special jutsu that I got from a secret scroll. But I'd be more than happy to teach you about art and explosives."

"Sounds like a plan. The only thing I know about explosives are paper bombs. How do I make something like the stuff you do? How do I make explosions huge and destructive?"

"I'll show you a few tricks-"

"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait, you slackers," Sasori said, appearing out of no where.

"Tobi would know Sempai's explosions anywhere!" Tobi squeaked.

"Is this what you've been doing all day?" Sasori interrogates.

"Well… yeah! We got assigned the country area. Everyone here wouldn't know what the current fashion trends are. I haven't seen one person with a piece of jewelry on, un," replies Deidara.

"Well while you're getting a sun tan the others and I could only find a hotel to stay. Tons of girls were wearing rings on chains today. I got dirty looks every time I glanced at the them, like I was some pervert. And with this goof around me it looked like we both had some sort of problem."

"You'll get used to it. I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while, un."

"Me too…"

Sasori sits down next to Deidara, and Tobi climbs the tree we we're sitting under. It's around four thirty, almost dinner time. I'm assuming I'm in charge of dinner duty again, so I think of a place to eat in advance. If they don't like it, we're going back to the barbecue dive we went to yesterday.

"So, are we meeting the others' someplace? Or are they coming here?" I ask, sitting on Deidara's other side.

"I'll pop a few small explosions to signal them," Deidara says, crafting more birds, "They should all be winding down by now, un."

His birds look like fireworks this time, and within ten minutes, everyone was around the tree.

No one had any luck. "_Good,_" I think,_ "That means they didn't run into Ino._"

It looked like everyone slacked off a little. Konan went shopping, she was carrying some bags. Hidan was slightly drunk, I'm guessing because he and Kakuzu went to a bar. Zetsu… he seemed to have spent his time in a field somewhere because he had a bouquet of interesting flowers. Itachi looked as bored as ever, and so did Kisame. Today must have been really slow for everyone.

Pein assembles everyone and we form a circle. The plan is to split up _again _and find dinner in all different places. After that, we're supposed to get a taste of Konoha night life and scout the town and it's nocturnal inhabitants. Around ten o'clock we meet at Ikchiraku's Ramen.

I have a feeling that tonight is going to be crazy…

* * *

Deidara and I grab a quick bite to eat and stop by my house again. I check in with my parents and they acted like Deidara was my new boyfriend already. They practically shooed me out. I felt them watching us from a distance, cooing and awing as we walked away together. I just hope Deidara didn't pick up on their enthusiasm.

We stop at park and sit for a while. Nothing's interesting here. Parks are for families and such, now that it's night time, families are at home and younger people are at the clubs. It might be a Sunday, but since tomorrow is holiday; everyone's on vacation and it feels like a Friday and Saturday night combined. Deidara doesn't seem like he wants to search for the ring at all, and of course I don't want to either. In fact, I want to avoid that topic at all costs. I might lie a lot, but it doesn't mean I like too…

He yawns, "Man, it's still so early but I'm so tired. We need to move; do something to wake me up. Sasori's going to bug me even more if he find out we're slacking again, un."

"Well, we can go downtown and see if there's anything interesting," I suggest.

"What's interesting?"

"Well… "

"_Okay, think Nene. Deidara is a guy and guys like…guys like girls…but… Deidara is an artsy guy! What do artsy guys like? Where can I take him that he'll have fun at? Where can I take him that he might be attracted to me?"_

"We can… just look around?" I suppose unsurely.

"Mmm… yeah I guess," He says, standing up, "Lead the way," he smirks.

I grin at his beautifulness and I feel like I'm floating while walking towards downtown. I'm almost sure that everyone who looks at us thinks we're a couple. They either think we're cute or hate us because they want a boyfriend as good looking as Deidara.

Wait. I just thought of him as my boyfriend. This is bad; if I let how infatuated with him show, he might be turned off forever. I need to remember what Ino said to me in her many pep talks about boys… how to attract them…

"_Nene, you need to make yourself look like a million bucks. First impressions last, so make sure you look awesome wherever you go. You never know who you're going to meet!"_

Okay, Deidara's first impression was me sleeping in a tree. When I woke up I was hot headed and snappy. Not good. The second time he saw me in a bikini. If _that_ was his first impression… who knows what could have been.

What else did Ino tell me…

"_When you tell a guy how you feel, that means you think you can trust him. If he likes you, he should give you insight and advice. If he doesn't, he'll look uncomfortable and might leave."_

I guess I can test this out…

I open my mouth about to ask him something about Shikamaru, remembering that he was snooping earlier this day, but Deidara beats me to it and asks, "Hey, you want to get a drink?"

"_Guys like bars, I forgot! If I drink he'll think I'm tough… right? He'll think I'm brave or something!"_

"Uh, sure! I haven't had a good drink in a while!" I say almost too excited. Again… I lied!

"I didn't think you were the one to drink, un," He teases.

"Pfft, no way. Ino's thrown tons of parties before. I think you can tell how wild they were knowing her."

"Yeah, I think I can picture one. I'm having a tough time imagining you taking shots though, un."

My face flushes, "Well… you'll just have to see for yourself!"

…

The most I've ever drunk was campaign…

We get to a casino with flashing lights and loud music. Right when my butt touches the seat at the bar, I feel my stomach do a flip. I had such a small dinner, and I've barley drunken before. I'm going to be falling all over the place… and then Deidara's going to have to help me around. Maybe there's an upside to this…

Deidara orders the drinks, "Cheers," he says and we clink glasses. I can see him look at me still sipping his drink. I look back at him and keep drinking mine too. I won' let him lose. We finish our drinks.

"Can you imagine me drinking now?" I ask grinning.

"_Now_ I can," He laughs, "I guess you're not as girlie as I thought you were, un."

"Girlie?" I ask perplexed as he orders more drinks, "What do you mean by that?"

"It's just that, when I first saw you, you were asleep in the forest," He chugs his drink down. I copy him, and nearly choke; it's so strong. He continues, "You looked so gentle and small, a good girl, you know, un."

"Yeah… you thought I wasn't a ninja…" I say pouting.

"That was Hidan. You woke up when he opened his big mouth. I knew the first second you woke up, but you were pretending to sleep, so I knew you were on guard, un." He gulps down another drink. I follow.

"So, you're saying you were watching me before the others?" I question.

"Eh… maybe…" he winks.

I laugh and so does he.

"_HE WINKED AT ME!" _I think in joy. I'm pretty sure that the alcohol is making me happier than I should be already.

"S-so would you say that y-your first impression of me was good?" I hiccup, "Or bad?"

"Good. You were spunky, un."

I laugh and hiccup again. I take another sip of my drink.

"So where did you go when you ran away?" he asks.

Something clicks inside me. I went to the river and found Hidan's ring. I can't tell him that, but the alcohol is making it so hard not too.

"I…I…I went to-"

"Excuse me, but Nene really shouldn't be drinking," A familiar voice interrupts.

"Shikamaru?" I exclaim, "What are you _hic_ doing here?"

"You know this guy?" Deidara asks.

"Yeah, he's a really good friend of mine! Shikamaru, this is Deidara. Deidara, Shikamaru."

They just nod at each other and lock eyes for minute. I think it's a guy thing, but overall I don't what they're doing. I'm too dizzy to care.

"I'm going to take Nene home, Deidara. Her parents aren't going to be happy about her being drunk."

"If Nene doesn't say anything it's fine, un."

Shikamaru drags me out before I could speak up. I'm so confused.

When we're far away, Shikamaru turns me around and grabs my shoulders. "Nene, you shouldn't be with those guys," he says sternly.

"What? W-why not? They're really cool and fun to be w-with!" I retort.

"No, listen, they _suspect_ you! They think you might have the ring. I heard this morning when you went back inside your house."

"Shikamaru, _hic,_ it's nice that y-you're worried, but I can handle my self! Why w-would they suspect me if they stayed in my house _hic_ last night?"

"Didn't you just see what happened in that bar? That guy tried to get you so drunk you'd just spill your entire story!"

I push Shikamaru away, "I can't believe you'd say that! Deidara is my friend! He likes me and I like him!"

"Nene-"

"Shikamaru, go away! Stop telling me this! …Y-you're just jealous!"

"_Jealous!?_" he exclaims, "Nene, I'm trying to warn you! _You're being used!_"

I can feel tears in my eyes. I want to run away, but I can't stand. Everything is spinning, and I feel my self falling.

"_I'm never getting g drunk again,_" I think as I tumble on the ground and hit my head.

* * *

'_SMACK!' _

"Nene, wake up!" Ino shouts into my ear. She slaps in the face again.

"_Owww_…. Ino, stop you're giving me a headache!" I moan.

"I think you're just hung over," Choji states.

I sit up, my head slightly spinning. I'm in Ino's room, and so are Choji and Shikamaru. "Hung over? I don't drink…"

"Well now you do. Deidara bought you some drinks last night. You were having a good time until _someone _showed up…" Ino says, directing her speech towards Shikamaru.

"I saved her butt, Ino. You would have had all those guy in your house looking for that ring if I didn't pull her out of there."

"Having tons of hot guys in my house is bad? Please, I wouldn't let them leave Konoha so soon. The ring isn't even in my house!"

"Guys…?" I ponder, wondering what they're talking about, until suddenly everything comes back in a huge wave.

.

Get dinner.

Scout the town.

Meet at 10.

.

"Oh my gosh!" I shout, "I was supposed to meet everyone last night at Ichiraku's! _And _I had to go home! My parents are probably-"

"Don't worry about it," Ino says casually, "I went to your house last night asking if you could sleep over. Your parents said you weren't home but if I could find you, they were totally fine with it. I said, 'She's probably with Deidara; I'll go get them.' They shouldn't even know you were drinking."

"Okay…Thanks… that's one thing down, but what about the others? The guys? Where are they? I don't even know what hotel they stayed at or if they found anything!" I worry.

"Psh, relax, like I said, I wouldn't let them find it so easily."

"Yeah… you also said it's not in your house!" I panic.

"Yeah, where _did _you hide it , Ino?" Choji prompts.

Out of nowhere, Konan appears at Ino's window. We all jump, surprised and scarred. Our cover was almost blown, again!

"Nene, I'm glad you're sober. Everyone came to the hotel drunk last night," she says relieved.

"Oh, wow! That's crazy… I thought there'd be more to do at night besides go to bars…" I say shakily.

"… You're eyes are red," she points out, "Heh, I didn't think you were the one to drink!" she says teasingly, giving me a 'I'm impressed' look.

"Heh… that's what Deidara said…" I say blushing.

"You and Deidara, huh?" She raises an eyebrow and grins at me,

"Ino, fellas, I'm going to take Nene now if you don't mind."

* * *

**N/A** **Not the best date, but it was something! Don't drink kids :P Hope you liked this chapter XD Let me know what you think!**


	8. Happy

"Konan, I'm still in my clothes from yesterday," I say tiredly, sipping my warm cup of chai tea.

"It's okay, you look fine,' She reassures, dunking her biscuit in her coffee.

We're at a small bakery, sitting in the back corner of the shop having breakfast on a chilly, holiday, Monday morning.

"No, I mean they smell bad and they're wrinkled. I need to go home and shower."

"I hear you," she winks, "You want to look your best for Deidara."

I can feel my face blush, "…So…"

Konan coos and after she's done "aww"ing she says, "I'm supporting you two all the way. You just click, I can feel it. Even your hair matches well. Blond and auburn? That's adorable."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up. I'm pretty sure he's just a crush and nothing is going to happen," I said a little bitterly.

"My hopes? What about _your_ hopes? I have Pein and I couldn't be happier. I can see you two being just as close."

"But you've probably known Pein for a lot longer. Deidara… I just met him a few days ago. I don't even know if he trusts me or even considers me a friend. How do I know he's not just talking to me because I'm his teammate and he's bored? Doesn't it seem almost too good to be true? That this awesome guy comes right in my way right when I'm actually _looking_ for a boyfriend and all my friends are telling me I'm lonely?"

"I think that means it's fate. The universe just works like that."

This reminds me of Ino's "intergalactic sign" speech she gave me the other day, and now, Konan is saying the same thing? Is it really that hard for me to grasp the idea of me having a boyfriend?

"Just go with it," Konan continues, "I'm positive Deidara likes you too. And when I say that, I mean he's interested."

I open my mouth to say something, but Konan hastily says, "I need to go to the bathroom," and she rushes away. The next thing I know, Shizune is next to me!

"Nene! What a surprise to see you here! I'm glad to see you enjoying your vacation."

"Oh, haha, yeah… thanks Shizune. It's been a great few days off," I say shyly.

"I'm happy to hear!" She pauses, "Um… well, I' not really sure if this is the place to tell you…"

What is it?" I ask curiously.

"Um… well, I'm not sure if this is good or bad but…"

"Yes…" I say trying to get her to spill.

"Well… Rui is… on a… family vacation."

"What?! He just got up and left with his family?"

"His parents came to Tsunade and I the other day asking for this 'vacation.' As you know, Rui has really been slipping. We all agreed that a vacation far away from here would actually do him good."

"Well, okay… I'm happy that he might get better… but now it's just me and sensei, but he's always so busy."

"Exactly my point. And here's where I wasn't sure if this was good news or bad, but you're going to have at least another week off. "

* * *

After Shizune left with some pastries, Konan came back out. I have a feeling that she didn't really need to go to the bathroom, but I didn't question her. I _am_ wondering why she left when Shizune came though... She heard everything already though, so I didn't need to explain why she came. Now, Konan's even more excited because I'll have more "Dei time."

We start walking towards my house and casually talk. My eyes aren't red anymore, so my parents shouldn't be suspicious of me and last night's drunkness.

"Oh darn, I don't have my key," I said as we get to my door.

"We've been waiting!" My dad sings as he opens the door.

Konan and I both looked creeped out. Seriously, why are my parents like this?

Konan and I go up to my room after greeting my parents. I go to take a quick shower, and when I get back, Konan has an outfit chosen for me.

"Look what I picked out for you !" She says delighted, "I even made sure you have cute underwear on."

"Underwear? Who's going to see that?"

"You never know," she hints.

I blush, "Where did you find this?" I ask, looking at a long sleeved, light burgundy shirt. It has a high neck line, but shows a good portion of my shoulders.

"It was in a shoe box," she says chuckling.

"Hm…" I say jumping in my closet to change into my underwear and put the shirt on. I come out and inspect myself in my mirror.

"Don't forget your pants," She says, tossing me some black khaki shorts, "It's a little cold today, but I think you can still wear shorts."

"Yeah, the long sleeves will keep me warm enough. I never wore long sleeves with shorts before. I like the look of it," I say happily.

"I know right? It highlights your legs. Makes you look cute but sexy. Plus, you're wearing cute underwear. Deidara would like this."

We laugh a little until I say, "It sounds like your planning for him to take off my clothes… We're not even together yet.

"You never know," she musses.

We leave my house around eleven. We head to the hotel they stayed at last night and I'm pleasantly surprised that it's a fairly good place.

"Everyone came piling into one room." Konan says, "We rented four two-bed rooms and I had to cancel two on them late at night. I hope they don't charge us."

We get up to the fifth floor where the group's room is. Pein and Konan shared one last night while the others passed out in the room next door. We walk into the room with all the guys and see Pein, Tobi, and Sasori sitting on the couch watching TV. Everyone else is sleeping on the floor or beds.

"Yay! Nene-chan is back!" Tobi greets, bouncing up to me and hugging me with full force.

"Tobi…I'm… glad to see… you too!" I say, patting him on the back, trying to breath.

Sasori and Pein seem to be unamused at Tobi antics, but acknowledge me and nod their heads. It looked like they had a long night too. Pein urges us to come over to the couch and we have a brief mini meeting.

"Well, now that we have all the members who are awake, I'm pretty sure that we can all predict what today is going to be- unproductive. Hours are being wasted by these bozos and after last night, I'm setting a curfew."

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Konan asks.

"Finding the ring has been harder than expected. We need all the time we can get, and we definitely can't have them hung over everyday. I'm making the curfew nine o'clock. This meeting is adjourned."

We continue to sit in our little circle. We have no where else to go; we don't know _where _to go. Until the others wake up, we're stuck in this hotel room. Realizing the situation, we all simultaneously sigh.

"Pass the remote, Nene?" Sasori requests.

I hand him the clicker and we all turn to face the medium sized television. Pein, Sasori, and Konan take the couch while Tobi and I sit on the floor. We watch some crime show while we wait for the others to wake up, but slowly, we all succumb to the boringness of the day and doze off as well.

"Pst, Nene…" Somebody pokes my arm.

"Huh?" I ask sleepily.

"What's going on? Why is everyone sleeping, un?"

I'm sprawled out on floor, I guess I must have rolled around again. I pick up my head and recline into a pretzel position as I focus on Deidara, who's kneeled next to me. What a wonderful sight to wake up to.

"Uh… We fell asleep waiting for you guys to wake up, " I say, rubbing my eyes.

"Shh… I sort of like it this way, un," He says whispering, "Everyone's sleeping, we can do anything without them knowing."

"Like, draw on their faces?" I breathed.

He laughs, "No, I mean, let's go out, un."

He gets up and holds out his hand to help me up. I take it, and he pulls me up effortlessly. I feel myself grinning and blushing. He opens the door and we tip toe out. I can't believe this is happening!

This is so cliché, but… is this a dream?

Xxxxxxxxx

"Where do you want to go?" Deidara excitedly asks.

"Definitely not drinking," I emphasized, smiling.

We're walking down the street from the hotel, passing by stores and shops of all kinds. It's 2 o'clock, and we both agreed that downtown Konaha is boring, so we head back to the field we went to yesterday. Is this a date? Or are we just hanging out? There's so many things going through my head, it's hard to think straight.

"Yeah, I still have a headache. Hey, uh…Sorry about last night, un."

"Oh, no, I should be the one saying sorry. Shikamaru… he's just a worry wart sometimes."

There was an uncomfortable silence. I felt like I should say something… anything to break this pause, but I'm at a loss for words.

"He's not you're boyfriend or anything, right?" questioned Deidara, slightly panicked.

I raise both my eyebrows, "Him? Oh, no way!" I exclaimed, "No, I'm single. I've been that way for a while…."

Another silence. Now it's starting to get awkward…

What's this aurora that's looming over us? We were so happy just a minute ago… It's a heavy feeling, like something is supposed to take place. It's like we both know what's about to happen, what's _suppose _to happen.

We're just waiting for it to come.

"H-how about you? Do you have a girlfriend?" I squeaked.

I'm going to make this happen.

He laughs out loud, "Me? Being in the organization I'm in? I've only had small flings on our annual vacation, un."

"Oh…" I say a little heartbroken.

How could this be? Konan said he liked me! I don't want us to just be a fling… even though, I'd feel like I'd do anything for him.

Realizing that I was disappointed, Deidara quickly blurted, "Oh! But uh, I'd… I'd… I'd really be interested in us being more than that…"

We're in the middle of a dirt road leading out to the country. I stop walking and look at him, surprised.

"I mean! If you feel the same way!"

I can see him becoming flustered. He's just too adorable right now.

"_What am I suppose to do now? What do I say? Of course I feel the same way!" _

My heart is pounding so hard now. I can feel the redness in my cheeks, the tingling in my brain, the lightness of my body.

I'm so happy.

The only thing I can manage to do is take a step forward and embrace him. I wrap my arms around him and lean my head on his chest. After a few seconds, he recovers from my bold action and holds me too.

I hold him tighter, and he hugs me closer as well.

I can see where this is going.

I squeeze him as hard as I can and he does the same. But of course, he would crush me if he used all his gorgeous muscles. Instead, he lifts me up and spins around.

We're laughing, and everything is perfect.

"Oh Deidara, of course I feel the same way. I really like you," I admit as he sets me down.

"And I really like you, too."

He leans in and pecks my cheek and hold me close again.

I cannot explain the bliss I feel at this moment. It's just overwhelming how my emotions are churning in my mind. I want to cry and squeal and jump all around in a field of flowers with a rainbow above my and sprout wings and soar through the sky and fly right past cloud nine.

I think I'm in love.

* * *

**A/N: Giggle~ ohoho I hope you enjoyed! More to come soon c: What do you think so far? I also changed the cover. You can see the full picture on my other deviantrt, .com c:**


	9. Caught

Sitting in the shade of a tree while watching the clouds with someone you love, and knowing that person loves you back, feels amazing. So peaceful; so comfortable. Especially when that special person ha s his arm around you.

"Are you cold, un?" Deidara asks as a breeze flows by.

"Nope. How can I when you're so warm?" I smile.

"Huh, I thought you were the one keeping _me _warm, un" he smirks.

"Tch, you're funny Dei," I laugh, "You know, I'm surprised you and the others don't have some sort of matching coat or something for the winter."

"Well, actually we do, un…" he says a little quietly.

"What does it look like?" I ask.

"Erm, well… "

His expression changes from carefree to secretive. I can't read it. He always becomes introverted when I bring up the group… Is this organization really that secretive that he can't tell me what their jackets look like?

"Pein ordered new ones this year," He says finally, "So we don't know what they're going to be like, un."

_He's so obviously lying. _"Oh, so it's like a surprise. Pein seems like a cool leader, giving you vacations and all these things," I say, playing along instead of pointing out his lie.

"He's actually really strict most of the time and locked in his room back at the base… Without Konan, he's a mess. He's only so 'nice' and lenient now because it's like he's baby sitting us. Its weird how the simplest mission is so hard for us, un."

"Heh… yeah…"

"_Don't talk about the ring!" _I think. _"Just keep asking questions."_

"So, does the group have a name?" I ask, feeling far away from Deidara now. It's weird how this topic seems to make us feel like strangers. He becomes so exclusive, and it makes me a little upset.

If we're going to be a couple, he needs to tell me what he does for a living. Or at least… I think that's what Ino would advise me.

Deidara looks so uncomfortable but manages to come up with, "I need permission from Pein to tell you, un…"

I'm skeptical, but that answer just makes me want to ask more questions.

"That's a very strange rule," I say, "What do you guys do exactly?"

Deidara lets out a puzzled sigh, not angry, but more in the sense that he just doesn't know what to say, "Geeze, I… I really can't explain everything. It's complicated, but let's just say we do discount missions."

I furrow my eyebrows. How is that complicated? That's a good thing! They do tasks to help others who need a missions at a low price!

"Oh, that's great! For a minute there, I thought you guys do something sketchy. Why so closed off? Is it because I'm not part of the group?" I ask, leaving the warmth of Deidara's side to rotate so I'm facing him. I'm so frustrated.

"No, Nene…I promise it's not like that! Its just… I'm not suppose to say anything about it. I would tell you, I swear, but I just can't."

He doesn't want me to know. He does something dangerous, I can feel it. There's no other reason he wouldn't be able to tell me.

Now, I'm worried about him. I finally find someone I love and it just so happens to be that his job endangers his life more than a normal ninja's job would.

I stand up and walk into the sunlight and cross my arms.

"Awe, don't be like that, un…" Deidara sounds a little hurt. He comes up next to me, and I can tell he's trying to think of what to say.

"I'm cold," I declare.

He puts his hand on my shoulder, leans in, and plants a kiss on my lips.

How can he do that? Just take away all my thoughts like that? One kiss and the only thing I can think about is him. The whole world is gone. All problems and troubles vanished, just because of him.

I want more.

"Are you still cold, un?"

"I'm freezing."

I feel like I just finished running a marathon while walking back to the hotel. I've never done anything like making out before. We both didn't want to stop, but we knew that the others would be waking up soon, if they weren't already.

I think I finally know why Ino is always so enthusiastic about boys- they're awesome. She wanted me to know how fun it can be to be unavailable. I never thought my mind would want someone so much!

All of a sudden, walking through the village, I felt the want to cling onto Deidara's arm so all the girls around me would know he's mine. If I should, I wasn't sure. I didn't want to be a clingy girlfriend… Maybe Deidara didn't like public displays of affection. Man, it's like I have a job now! If I do something wrong, I might get broken-up with. Will the others back at the hotel know? Or do we keep it a secret? I took a breath to ask Deidara what he thought, but I was rudely spun around by a strong grip on my shoulder.

"We need to talk," a frantic Ino said.

"What? Where did you come from?" I exclaimed.

"Deidara, I'm borrowing Nene for a while!" Ino informed as steals me away.

Hoping across roof tops, Ino fails to release her grip from my wrists until she throws me into her room. I stumble all over her messy piles of clothes until I crash on her bed.

I flip over and yell, "Ino! What's wrong with you!"

"Shush just listen!" She hisses. Ino flips over some piles of clothes and pulls out the chain that holds the wanted ring everyone is looking for, "I can't keep this anymore. Asuma saw it and wanted to give it to the Hokage! He was asking me where I got it and said it could be dangerous. I lied and said I found it in the woods. I ran off saying I had to go. Later this morning, he found me again and I told him I lost it. He's not believing me though. I can't keep the ring anymore, Nene."

"But I can't keep it either. I was heading back to the hotel the guys were staying at so we could start looking again."

"Just put it in here then!" Ino exclaims and shoves the ring in my bra.

"_What_!"

"Don't you remember that sometimes things are best hidden out in the open? No one would think to look there."

"But-"

"Ino! Asuma Sensei is here!" Ino's mom calls from downstairs.

"Crap! You need to get out of here!" Ino exclaims. She practically pushes me out the window and harshly hisses, "You were never here!"

Great. Now what was I suppose to do? It's true that the ring doesn't even poke through my shirt… and no one would touch me there…but was it really that good of a hiding place?

Troubled, I start walking to the hotel. Deidara is a priority after all. I can't just abandon him after I was so rudely snatched away. Ugh, what's gotten into me? Normally I would try to avoid them at all costs in a situation like this, but all of a sudden I'm daring and willing to risk the consequences I would have to pay if they caught me red handed. Maybe love isn't good for me, but I know, that overall, love is a good thing.

* * *

'_Knock, knock.'_

The hotel door is quickly swung open by Tobi. I'm greeted with the usual glomp and praise from the masked man-child while the others in the room are groggily slumping around. The crowd around the TV has grown because Itachi, Kakuzu and Deidara have joined Konan, and Sasori. Hidan and Kisame were sitting at the small circle table in the kitchen with mugs of coffee. Pein was no where to be seen. I've never been in a more depressing room before… It's just sad how a usually lively group of comrades is so down in the dumps.

"Nene, thank heavens, you're back!" Konan says excitedly, "It's such a bore here. No one wants to go out without Pein's orders because they're too lazy. Pein went out by himself because he was so fed up with these bozos."

"And we're freaking hungry!" Hidan exclaims from the kitchen, "Kakuzu is too cheap to get room service!"

"Why don't you spend your own money for once, you bigot!"

"I've never seen so many men act like babies…" I murmur. Konan giggles quietly.

"What was that…" Sasori provokes.

"It's nothing, grumpy," This time, Deidara chuckles. He hasn't said much, but we made eye contact a few times.

A few seconds of blunt, boring, silence pass until Konan says, "Pein is summoning me. Have fun lazing around guys." She disappears in a poof of smoke.

"We might as well get out of here too, un," Deidara mentions, getting up then walking over to me.

"Ooh! Where are we going?" Tobi bounces.

"_You _can go where ever you want Tobi," he says as he put his arm around me and poofs just the two of us away.

"That was so mean," I state, even though it was humorous at the same time.

"I know, un," he smirks.

"I love that mischievous look on your face," I ogle as I peck him on the cheek.

"Aren't you sweet?" He coos as we embrace in a delicate, yet passionate kiss.

He whisked us away to the river where I first formally met the organization. As winter approaches, the sun starts to set earlier and is now brightly hovering over the horizon. In about an hour, the sun will start to turn the sky and clouds beautiful hues. Hopefully, we'll spend that time here for a nice romantic change.

"I'm so glad I found you, un."

"Me too," I smile.

I feel his warmth engulf me as we continue to kiss. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else. I don't know how long we were there, but things started to gradually get more intense. I felt his abs under his shirt and it eventually the shirt came off. It was only a problem he started to take off mine, or what Ino calls "second base."

His strong hands started feeling up my waist all the way up to my chest, and that's when we both stopped.

"…What do you have in your bra?"

* * *

**DUN DUN DUNNNN. I'm back~ To anyone still reading ;_; I promise to update more frequently. I'm sorry for leaving for so long OTL Hope you like the chapter though. See you soon and please review! I love to know what you think. 3 Ja ne!**


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